Using immersive real-time collaboration environments to manage IP networks

Administrators of complicated computer networks face many challenges, as they continuously monitor and control their systems. Traditional methods of network management are complicated and resource-intensive. To ease the burdens of network management, and help network administrators provide a better service, a 3D game engine was leveraged to develop a unique visualisation system. The system is collaborative, allows for network control, and works across the Internet. Through experimentation, it was found that visual attributes must be chosen carefully to allow correct perception, and that a wide variety of experiment participants (even computer novices) were able to develop a rapid understanding of the visualisation and its controls.